This invention relates to an attachable and detachable caster roller unit for suitcases, luggages and the like which are brought from place to place by manual effort.
Hitherto, many kinds of caster roller units have been developed and placed in use for attachement to one end of a suitcase or other item of luggage. However, the conventional caster roller units are generally inconvenient in attachment to or detachment from the object.
To improve the disadvantages of the conventional caster roller unit, the inventor has provided a new detachable luggage caster roller unit which comprises a caster roller swivelly supported by a base plate and a separate seat adapted to be secured to a bottom or lateral end of the luggage to receive the base plate of the caster roller. The inventor's first caster roller unit of this type, however, has such the defect that the caster roller is sometimes slipped out the seat on movement of the luggage from place to place. To prevent this defect, a resilient stopper has been provided in the seat, nevertheless it is cumbersome for manufacture and disadvantageous in cost.
It is, therefore, a general object of the invention to provide a caster roller unit which is conveniently attachable to and detachable from the luggage but never separated therefrom on movement of the luggage and is manufactured at low cost.
In accordance with my invention, the detachable luggage caster roller unit includes a caster roller which is swivelly supported by a base plate and a separate seat adapted to be secured to a bottom end of the luggage to receive and anchor the base plate of the caster roller. The seat for anchoring the caster roller is typically comprised of a substantially rectangular plate of a predetermined thickness having a cavity with two symmetrical grooves adapted to embrace the opposite sides of the base plate. The cavity at its flat bottom is provided with two symmetrical slits to form a resilient tongue with a weir positioned at an outer end thereof and adapted to prevent the base plate of the caster roller from slipping out the seat.
A principal object of the invention is, therefore, to provide a detachable caster roller unit including a caster roller which is swivelly supported by a base plate and a separate seat adapted to be secured to a bottom end of the luggage to receive and anchor the base plate of the caster roller and comprising a substantially rectangular plate of a predetermined thickness which is formed with a cavity with two symmetrical grooves adapted to embrace the opposite sides of the base plate, said cavity at its flat bottom is provided with two symmetrical slits to form a resilient tongue with a weir positioned at an outer end thereof and adapted to prevent the base plate of the caster roller from slipping out the seat.
The caster roller per se used in the present invention is a known type. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the present invention is particularly directed to the seat which is secured to the bottom or lateral end of the luggage for attachment and detachment of the caster roller.
Another object of the invention is, therefore, to provide a seat for anchoring the caster roller which comprises a substantially rectangular plate of a predetermined thickness having a cavity with two symmetrical grooves adapted to embrace the opposite sides of the base plate of the caster roller, said cavity at its bottom is provided with two symmetrical slits to form a resilient tongue with a weir adapted to prevent the base plate of the caster roller from slipping out the seat.
The seat may be integrally formed of plastic material for example by the convenient injection molding process. The resilient tongue at its rear side is provided with a rib acting as a lever to increase a resiliency of the tongue on the manual depression thereof for attachment or detachment of the caster roller from the seat.